Directions

In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cake flour, chestnut flour, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well blended. Add the egg yolks, the oil, and the buttermilk, and, using an electric mixer, beat until smooth.

Drain the currants, reserving the soaking grappa. Fold the currants, chestnuts, and apples into the batter.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the batter, and then pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside to cool for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto a plate.

In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners’ sugar, 4 teaspoons of the reserved soaking grappa, and the corn syrup until smooth and glossy. (If it is too thick to spread,add another teaspoon of corn syrup.) Pour the icing over the peak of the cake all around the ring, and allow it to set for 10 minutes.

Drink a shot of the remaining grappa in the kitchen before serving the cake with a bowl of the mascarpone on the side.